Man Utd news: Sir Jim Ratcliffe gets reality check as club legend targets manager role

Manchester United may have invested heavily during the summer transfer window but the Red Devils face a long journey back to the top of English football. United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe saw the club splash out on a new frontline and goalkeeper Senne Lammens, but the new signings have not brought instant success to Ruben Amorim’s side.

Prior to their match against Chelsea on Saturday, United had averaged a point per league game since the start of Amorim’s reign last November. Last season’s Europa League finalists also squandered an early chance for silverware with their shock defeat to Grimsby in the Carabao Cup. Speaking at a Q&A, United’s director of football Jason Wilcox has given an update of when the club can expect a return to their glory days.

Meanwhile, two former United stars are embarking on new chapters in their careers. United legend Ryan Giggs has reportedly stepped down from his role at Salford City while ex-Red Devils striker Anthony Martial has signed for a new club.

Jason Wilcox on Manchester United’s future

There was plenty of excitement surrounding United when the club signed Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko to improve their attacking options. However, United’s director of football has warned the club hierarchy and United supporters that his work is far from finished.

”This club is just a wonderful football club and I'm extremely privileged,” Wilcox said at a gala dinner for the 40th anniversary of the Association of Manchester United Players, as per ESPN. “I just pray that we get the opportunity to turn it around. I really feel that it's not 'will we win again,' it's 'when we are going to win again.'

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"It's going to take time, it's not a quick fix, especially now with the [profitability and sustainability] regulations. We needed to change the playing squad. We've now made some really good additions this summer. Sometimes taking players out of the squad is just as important as the players that you bring in.

"We've got to try and bring the culture and the respect back to Man United,” Wilcox added, having stepped up to the job in December 2024. “Whether you work for Man United or you play against Man United, you feel like you're part of something special.

"That's what we're trying to bring. I'm extremely proud, I'm extremely privileged, but I'm extremely frustrated as well because we can't fix it quick enough."

Ryan Giggs aims for new manager job

The Sun reports that United hero Giggs has left his role as Salford City’s director of football. It is claimed that Giggs has left his position overseeing the club’s football operations, as well as helping manager Karl Robinson on matchdays, as he searches for a return to management.

Giggs was most recently in charge of Wales, guiding his country to Euro 2020 qualification, but was placed on leave in November 2020 following his arrest on assault charges; Giggs eventually stepped down in June 2022. In 2021, Giggs was charged with assault as well as coercive and controlling behaviour, with the United icon denying all charges. A jury was unable to reach a verdict and Giggs was later cleared of all charges after a retrial was abandoned in 2023.

The 51-year-old shared his aspirations to return to management earlier this year. “I had the stint as Wales manager and loved it,” he told BBC Radio Manchester in January. “Eventually, I’d like to get back into management. On matchday, I still get as excited as ever, probably more than ever.”

Anthony Martial in transfer dispute

Anthony Martial became the most expensive teenager in world football when he signed for United from Monaco for £36million in 2015. While he showed glimpses of his true potential at Old Trafford, he ultimately fell short of expectations. A decade on from his record-breaking transfer, Martial is once again creating headlines after completing his move to Mexican club Monterrey.

However, fellow Liga MX side Pumas believed they had already finalised a move for Martial. Following the 29-year-old's move to Monterrey, a member of Pumas’ recruitment team has called on him to apologise.

"It's not the agent who decides, it's the player. I don't know if it is because of money - maybe he analysed other situations and had every right to make his decision,” Miguel Mejia Baron told Mexican TV channel TUDN, as per talkSPORT. “Maybe what he lacked was an apology."

Remarkably, Pumas sporting strategy director Eduardo Saracho admitted that the club only realised they had missed out on the striker when he was announced as a Monterrey player. "We started discussing Anthony's situation weeks ago,” Saracho told TUDN. “We entered into negotiations with his club, they allowed us to talk to AEK Athens, we had a couple of Zoom meetings and phone calls, working out a deal.

"We reached a preliminary agreement, it was a formal proposal, in writing, we were getting everything ready. And then, just as you found out, there was this awkward silence. You get to this point where you have an agreement in principle, then this silence, and then 'Boom', the announcement from Monterrey came out."

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